


Undertale: No soul left

by shedrak1221



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Pacifist run after genocide run
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-10-22 02:57:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10688376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shedrak1221/pseuds/shedrak1221
Summary: All have left the underground.All have finally seen the sun.But when souls have already been lost... hell can only rise above.Most chapters written in Sans' perspective. Grim storytelling.





	1. Chapter 1

The sun felt nice. Really nice. To feel the warmth on his bones, something foreign after so many years of longing.  
He had sworn he had lost interest, but he could not lie, it was something that overwhelmed him; as much as every single monster that had left the underground.  
Sans took another bite of his hotdog, ignoring the curious glance of the kid that walked nearby. Said human asked his mother curiously, about where that food could possibly go, if he had only an empty ribcage to fill.   
Humans still gave them all some weird looks, but things could only go better now. No major conflicts arose, no war, no death. Shock was of course there, but not one based in fear. They were something foreign to humans, like the sun was for most of monsters. All were aprehensive of all that was new, but all wanted to welcome it. It took so much to achieve it after all...  
A smile grew on his skull; he heard the mother shush the kid gently, lecturing how it was rude to comment on people like that, no matter how different they might look.   
He brushed his empty sockets with one of his skeletical hands, not hiding a yawn. The days were long, and this time, he was not slacking like he may have done below.

"Three jobs, and still barely enough."

Minimum wage sucked, but there was not much he could do about it for now. Not much time had passed since they emerged, and bills had to be paid. He finished his food with one last bite, not caring that it was human food. Monster food dissapeared, made of magic; human food was weird. The meat and bread slid in between his ribs, luckily sticking there, not staining his clothes. He enjoyed the feeling, to be honest.  
He was really tired. He worked his bones off, every single day.

"Welp, at least I can knock some fun now."

He eyed the door, all ever inviting. The apartment were he lived was small, and yet, it was enough to give home to four. Sharing allowed for a more easier pay of rent. Not to speak of the nice company.  
He smirked, leaning closely on the door; he cracked his bare knuckles, ready to jest again. He coughed, keeping in mind the joke he had thought while he left from work.  
Finally, he knocked, knowing well she would be there, like every day.   
He waited. He waited for the heavy but gentle steps; he listened closely, just to figure out if she had been in the kitchen making pie, or if she had been in the living room reading one of her snail books.  
No sound could be heard. There was no asnwer to his knock, which always got out of her a "Who's there?"  
He raised a brow, confused by her absence. Toriel was always eager to hear one of his jokes. She had loved them when they shared them by the ruins, she loved them here.

"Toriel?"

He leaned again, trying to figure out if she had left by any chance. It would not be hard to imagine multiple possibilities. She could have left with frisk, for some icecream, with which to ease the summer heat. She could have gone to the library, and maybe she had found Asgore in the way; something that would sure cause some delay, given all that she had to say to the former king. All was possible, but one thought was more probable the more he pondered. He could not hear the noisy cackles of Papyrus inside. Had they all left?  
He groaned, scratching his skull. He pondered there at the steps for a moment, but then he eyed an empty alley in their street.

Inside, the bathroom door opened. He whistled, closing it behind him, then setting foot into the living room.   
He looked around him, pondering what would he do. He felt tired, but he guessed a small detour into the kitchen would be wise, considering he had a hotdog stuck in between his ribs. A real magic made hotdog was better, and maybe, Toriel had left some pie in the fridge.  
Her pies were always nice, he-  
He blinked; his feet stopped, right by the counters. He stared at them, at the ground as well. There was a white powder, all over, which covered most of the counter and floor. He slowly kneeled by it. A trembling cackle escaped his skull, while he reached nervously the powder.

"H-heh. Silly Frisk, must have thrown the flour again. Or maybe Papyrus tried to-"

He stopped. His bones brushed the floor, and so, what he thought was flour.

It was not flour, not powder.  
It was dust.  
A shiver ran down his spine, he was frozen, kneeling there by the counter and the kitchen knifes that were scattered on it. There were some ingredients for pie, forgotten, never having been used today. Some footsteps, small, over the dust, leading out. As well, some words had been scribbled, with a finger.   
He read slowly, feeling a terryfing dread overflow every single bone in his body.

_**"Guess who's next?"** _


	2. Chapter 2

A cried choke was all that left him.  
He pushed himself back, feeling disgust and horror for what he was seeing. It was something he had seen before, something that was now familiar in his subconscious; but it was something he would have never expected to see here. Not here, not now. Not this time.  
He took a few steps back, not sure where to look. He didn't know if to avert his gaze from the dust, or if to near again and mourn it closely. There was no mistaking, he knew well who it had formed before.

"T-tori-"

He couldn't speak. He slammed his hand onto his mouth, wincing. His eye glinted for a second, remembering well that sickening grin, that eerie expression. It was not easy to remember, it was buried deep in him. It was almost as if he could see it, here. Toriel, once more, lovingly preparing the oven, like every day. Her cheerful murmuring, sure that her child was contently playing in the living room, while she readied their favourite food. Then, her shock, turning and seeing the human there, holding a kitchen knife. Her worried words, her attempt at taking the dangerous tool gently; the quick but firm stab, just as her hand brushed theirs. Her gaze, confused; her eyes, meeting the ones of her killer for a second, without understanding. Soon, seeing her own self begin to fall apart...  
He shook his skull. He had to push the thought of her heart shaped soul breaking in half away. He looked at the words again, written on her remains.

"I'm coming, brother."

He remembered. The snow, the scarf, the dust. Papyrus.

\---------------------

He ran. How he ran.  
He did not even bother to close the door of their home again. It would have been pointless. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, part of him knew he would not go back home.  
It was a bad dream, but it was real.  
He panted, sweating. He had looked in many places, all which they frequented since they found their freedom. The only place he had left was the park. It was one of Frisk's preferred places in the city; it was secluded, apart from the busy streets, shadowed by many oaks and tall buildings. Many children frequented it, every day, once the school ended.   
The sun was setting, and the dark was making his eyes gleam, all full of fear. Some people gave him looks while he ran; the streets were almost empty now, and it was uncommon for somebody to run this hurriedly.  
He finally was alone; the more he neared, the less humans he saw. He only had to turn a corner now, run through an alley, and he would finally reach it. The park was at hand at last.  
He had ran, but he found himself slowing down in the alley. His shadow moved slowly, his eyes getting wider, losing the hope they had held with each second he stared at the view.  
This park was really hidden, a perfect spot for children to play without being stared at. He was the first to see; the once green grass, now white and red. His steps shook, his hands clenched. There was dust, but there was also blood. The death of a monster could be less obvious, but there was no way to miss the sight of a human corpse.   
It was not only children, there were also a couple of adult bodies. He had no way of knowing what the dust had been.   
He could have stood there frozen, and he did for a minute, but soon something else took his attention. Something red, something that was not blood, but that was much more shocking and horrifying.   
He ran for it, with a silent gasp; he did not pay much mind to the small footsteps on the dust and blood, which led to what he leaped for.  
He said nothing, he just dropped to his knees in front of the red scarf. He clenched his teeth, growling while he clutched the red scarf close. He sat there crying for a minute, looking at what else was there.   
The footsteps had stopped here. There was dust, all over this spot; the two who had stood here, had done so for more than a minute.  
Papyrus had stood in front of that thing.

"Papyrus, you idiot."

He expected no answer. So he was more than a little shocked when it came.

"Hey, that's no way to refer to your brother, Sans!"

His eyes widened. He looked, mouth agape; the sound had come from behind the nearby slide. He slowly sat up, and crawled slowly, leaning to see, disbelieving.   
Both skulls stared at each other; one was disbelieving, the other had an offended and tired frown.   
He looked at Papyrus. Well, more at what was left of him. Papyrus had suffered a deep cut, all through his neck, which had caused his skull to detach, and then roll away behind the slide.  
His brother seemed hurt and tired, given that the rest of his body was now dust, but still, he managed to bark at him like he always did.

"I, the great Papyrus, don't appreciate your insensible banter! Much less after my heroic efforts!"

Papyrus raised a brow, because he began to laugh, his hold on the scarf loosening.

"Sans? What ever tickled your funny bone now?"

His brother rarely used puns. Sans laughed even more, but with each second, that laugh became more and more distorted, ending up in cries. He picked up his brother's skull, still crying and laughing.

"Missing most of your bones, but still great, bro." He frowned, smiling bitterly. "You got deep in whatever happened here, didn't you."

He knew already. Papyrus frowned too, and he understood at that moment that there was not much time. His brother seemed exhausted, each word was dragged and pondered.

"I really tried to stop it. I can't understand what they were thinking."

"Frisk..."

Papyrus blinked up at him in surprise, not having thought he would guess something he thought so shocking.

"Sans, how do you know? I thought that if you went home, you would think some fiend had broken in and hurt her."

"Doesn't matter how I know. They did it, I'm sure." He grew serious, trying to get Papyrus to focus. "What did exactly happen here?"

"Well..." Papyrus reminisced, showing true concern. "I saw. I saw them holding a knife, smiling. I didn't understand, but I knew I had to do something. Something has happened to Frisk, it was like if they were a completely different person. I barely had time to react, because they told me to play along. The ran out, fast, with a very rude taunt, I might say. I chased, knowing they were getting into even more trouble, if that was possible. Then... I caught up, here. I was too late, I was baffled by what you have just seen, yet I tried to take them away from it... I thought I had managed; they neared, knife lowered. It raised again. I remember rolling, I remember hearing a small laugh and footsteps walking away. I couldn't see much from behind the slide. I honestly don't know how much time has passed; I'm pretty sure it can't have been more than ten minutes, but it has felt like hours."

Sans opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted. Both jolted, Papyrus' bounced in his hold with a yelp. Sirens were blasting near the park, both from ambulances and police cars. Both sweated, hearing and seeing officers near slowly the crime scene. While the humans gasped at the bloodshed, Papyrus took back his attention, hurriedly.

"S-sans." Papyrus was smiling. His eyes were droopy, and his voice was merely a whisper now. In that moment, both could only see each other. "Promise me something."

He leaned a little away, his hold tightened a little, but Papyrus didn't seem to notice much. He dreaded asking, but he did anyway.

"W-what do you want, Papyrus?"

His brother smiled up at him, sure of himself, hopefully.

"You have to promise, that you'll bring them out of this path for me."

He laughed, and then shook his head. There was panic in his answer, his brother had closed his eyes.

"I c-can't promise that, Pap-"

"You have always... had more guts than I..."

With that encouraging pun, the skull he was holding crumbled into dust.   
His hands shook, he didn't pay mind to the officer that yelled behind him while he cried silently.

"You, hands up!"

He didn't do as told. All officers had seen the murder scene, and he was the only suspect. They repeated their comand, guns up at him.

"I said hands up, monster!"

That word managed to snap him out of it, enough for him to look behind him. His eyes glinted, while he gave a quick glance at the humans.   
The officers growled a little, slightly afraid when he stood slowly. Still giving them his back, he raised his hands up, holding the red scarf.  
All thought he would turn around, and he did, slowly. But when they thought he would begin to near and surrender, he did something that threw them off.  
He threw the scarf towards them.  
Most yelped, given that they were only common policemen and had only recently coexisted with monsters. Some in the back shot at him, when he dashed, fast. No bullet hit him.  
They all saw him leap and hide behind the slide, out of sight. None saw him get out; there was no monster hidding there, and there was no way to escape but the alley...


	3. Chapter 3

Almost there...  
He brushed off the sweat. The sirens were muffled, they were far. His steps slowed a little, but neared with the same decision.  
A fairly big house, two floors tall. That if he didn't count the huge underground facility below, of course.  
He slammed himself against the door, hiding below the shadows of the porch. He tried to stop panting; he soon leaned and heard that indeed, the owner of the house was home.  
There was no mistaking the sounds of an anime marathon.  
The knock was uncertain, but urgent.  
Inside, a groan and a mumble echoed. He heard someone grab a remote strongly, the angry scoff, and the volume of the huge tv lower. Steps echoed towards him, from the inside.  
Alphys was the one to open the door. She peeked shyly, and only opened more when she recognized him there.

"Sans?"

He looked into the street one more time. Before she could ask what he was doing here, he asked.

"Alphys, let me in."

"W-wha- B-but I was- We were watching-"

"Now." He invited himself in, not forcefully but insistently. "It's important."

Alphys lifted a finger, mouth open. She lowered it and closed her mouth, unable to stop him from getting into the big living room.  
Undyne was still sitting on the sofa, never having eyed him. She was entranced with the anime, even if now with an angry expression, for the mild inconvenience of having to lower the volume. She was more angry, if it was possible, when he neared and snatched away the remote from her hand.

"HEY!" She stood sharply, fists clenched. If looks could melt, his bones would. "What do you think you are doing?!"

Before she could lower her fist onto his hand and the remote, he switched channels. Gone was the bloody and surreal battle in the screen, replaced by something much more real. Undyne instantly forgot her anger and her anime; her scowl twisted slowly into a gaping bewilderment. Both she and Alphys stared blankly at what they were seeing, only able to mutter a few words.

"What-?"  
"The heck is that?"

Undyne dropped herself onto her legs in front of the tv. Her jaw was low, her eye wide open; Alphys hid a little behind the couch. He still held the remote, serious.

"That, is something you have to see."

Undyne looked at the human corpses, then she tried to focus on what was behind the reporter. The tv didn't have to say it for her to know; she glanced sideways at Sans, truly grievous.

"That is not normal dust. Can't be in that quantity."

"Spot on."

He dropped the remote without care, looking down with a frown. Alphys and Undyne listened to the words of the reporter, disbelieving of each word.

"A horrifying event, one which this calm neighbourhood would have never seen coming. This evening, many lives have ended. A neighbor heard screams, and rightfully called the police. When the officers arrived, they found a disturbing view. We advise that if you have kids awake at this hour, you send them away; what we're about to show can be haunting." The reporter waited a second, and then the camera moved. "There have been no witnesses. There have been both human and monster casualties, but we can't know how many monsters have died, given that the dust is scattered. Judging by the wounds on the humans, police has determined that the weapon was a knife. Said weapon has not been found, and so, police can't find fingerprints. However, they do have a suspect."

Undyne and Alphys gasped, for a photography popped up in the screen. Neither the reporter or Alphys laughed at the fact that the photography was comical; taken right from social media, Sans, all covered in ketchup.

"A monster, of the skeletal kind, found here when the officers arrived. Said monster ran away when confronted, and is the main suspect of the act. Police are right now trying to find..."

"Well..." He sighed with a smile, all ever tired. "That was pretty quick... Didn't expect them to find my online account."

Both looked at him. Undyne winced, much less shy to ask than Alphys.

"Sans, what ever did you do?"

He blinked at her, putting his hands on his chest.

"Me?" He snorted, noting how Undyne wasn't truly accusing him. "You really think I would have the guts to do that?"

"N-no Sans." Alphys had interjected, stuttering with shock. "But- Who could have ever done this? We weren't there."

"Frisk did it."

Undyne blinked, Alphys stood poker-faced. After a minute, in which he was dead serious, Undyne reacted. She bursted out laughing.

"Hahahahhgh!" Her sharp teeth showed, while an amused tear escaped her eye. "Frisk?! You gotta be kidding, Sans! I would rather believe something got under your skin and you went crazy, rather than believe they were able to do it! They don't even know how to punch; they are a flimsy wimp! You are just pulling a prank on us!"

"I am not, I don't have the money for it; and no, they aren't as flimsy as you think." Sans cringed, worried. "Listen, I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth. I know you won't believe it, but things are going to get worse, and I can't go on my way before warning you. They already got Toriel a-and-"

He was not able to mention Papyrus. While he felt a sting in his heart, Undyne stopped smirking. She stood sharply, expression darkened.

"Where is the dork?"

Her stance was tense. She believed now in his word, and had understood well what had happened to Toriel. He wasn't able to say the truth, not now, not to her; she looked ready to bolt, in a outburst of anger.

"I- I don't know where he is. I was going to find him once I warned you. He... he probably is somewhere, blissfully ignorant of all this."

He did not manage to prevent Undyne from bolting. Even if he lessened her reaction, she still growled and grabbed her jacket hurriedly.

"I'm going to get 'em. Both."

He raised a hand, trying to reason how risky it was to seek Frisk.

"Undyne, wait!" He tried to get out the door like she did. He was stopped; Alphys grabbed his arm, and pulled at him. "Alphys? Let go, I have to-"

"No, you really shouldn't." She bit her lip, looking out the door with paranoia. "I can hear the police. Right now, you're the city's most wanted head."

"Skull."

"Whatever. If you get out, they will find you. You have nowhere to hide but here."

He groaned, swatting her hold off. He did not run out, but did look worriedly at Undyne. She was storming down the street, like a bulldozer.

"How can I hide, knowing she could find Frisk?"

"She can handle herself. She's stronger than any of us. She could beat Asgore."

"Yes, but..."

"Besides, she probably can help find Papyrus as well!"

A minute of silence. He finally admitted to his white lie.

"She can't."

Alphys blinked. She stared at him while he entered her home once more. While he neared the door to her laboratory, the news covered more of the incident. Her expression filled with realization when the reporter pointed coldly at a dusted red scarf.

"Alphys." She snapped out of it, slightly. He was looking at her, inquiring. "Get your computer and send some warnings. And I need you to get some things for me."

She nodded, uncertainly.


	4. Chapter 4

He took his phone out.  
His eyes narrowed sadly, his hand doubted to press the call button. He held his breath, all the while the phone dialed. He waited, and subtly tensed when he heard an answer.

_"Hi, Toriel speaking."_

He smiled, so glad to hear her voice.

"Toriel, it's me, Asgore. I was-"

" _My apologies, but I'm not available at the moment. I'm probably baking some snail pie, or buying some groceries, maybe taking my child to the park. If it's important, please, leave a message, I'll answer as soon as I can; I'm a busy monster, hehe."_

He heard the tune, but he hung up. With a deep sad sigh, he placed his phone in his pocket. He did not check the multiple notifications from social media, too used to the constant messaging from Alphys. He was not in the mood to see any of what she called memes.

"Tori, where are you?"

He looked at the school behind him. The kids were in their break, most repeating the usual chant of how mondays sucked.   
He rarely spoke with his ex wife, not more than what was necessary. He almost never dared to call her. But he had to try today. Toriel had never missed a day in school, she always thought of the children. She had not come, and it was really late.  
He shook his head, taking his gardening scissors once more.

"Not your business, Asgore." He began to cut the bushes, repeating himself to give her the space she wanted. "If the reason of her absence was important, you would already know. You are the gardener, keep doing your job."

He would go home, tend to his small patch of golden flowers, and have some tea before bed. He would wake up tomorrow, and see that she had just a small inconvenience.  
He kept cutting, never picking his phone again.

\-------------------------------

She tapped on her screen again. The message popped up on her phone, sent, like many others. She groaned and rolled her eyes behind her glasses, noting how he did not check on the messages, judging from the two uncolored ticks in the app.

"Come on..."

She usually was up for a chat, but saying upfront what had happened? She would stutter too much to be coherent. She still was too shocked of what had happened at that park, and disbelieving of the loss Sans sworn had happened.  
She had sent warnings to most monsters they knew, of not getting out too much, and call them immediately if they saw Frisk. She was not about to tell everyone that Toriel was dead.  
Sans had been very clear, they had to avoid a panic. The former dog guards had seen tv, and Undyne had been less than happy to have to tell them by phone to stop barking about Sans being a murderer.  
She was looking at her huge screen and her phone, making sure to see every single bit of information on where the police went, and if there were any more incidents. She was so entranced, that when Sans' voice echoed through the speakers she jolted on her chair.

"Alphys, check channel five."

"Ah...!" She spoke back, knowing full well that Sans could hear her perfectly through the walkie-talkie he carried. "F-five?"

She did as told, quickly holding the tv remote.  
What she saw was only a bad quality mirroring of what he could see from an alley. The reporter was talking over the footage of a phone recording uploaded online, only a few minutes behind what was going on.  
He scoffed, frowning with angry disbelief.

"You are seeing it, right?"

A group, of both humans and monsters, arguing loudly. Slurs, accusations and demands. The humans had begun to get wary of monsters after the park incident, and when both lived together in the same neighbourhood...

"I-I see it."

"Well, things are getting worse. Push came to shove."

A third voice spoke through speakers and Sans's walkie.

"I'm on the way."

Both Alphys and him heard Undyne's steps halt fiercely and then take a sharp U-turn. Wherever she had been scouting, she was not there anymore.   
He did not know how far Undyne was, but it did not matter when she was this fast. Soon she would be here. Though...

"Crap..."

The crowd had began to push and shove by the time Alphys saw through her tv; but now, one human had had enough. He watched with wide sockets how a monster hit the ground, after being punched by a very angry buff man.  
He cursed silently, and reluctantly took a step out of the shadows of the alley where he watched from. He was ready to step out and get in between, because that human was towering now over the knocked monster. Before he could though, and before the man could kick, a very loud voice echoed and boomed from out the crowd.

"StooooooOOOOOOO-" Both monsters and humans yelped and stumbled when Undyne barreled through, at top speed towards the core of the quarrel. "-OOOOP!"

Not only the man stepped back, but everyone, humans and monsters. Like in a scene from one of her beloved animes, she parted the crowd like if she could part the sea. She stood in between everyone; her fist was up, and her fangs were showing in a very angry snarl, angrier than any of the people gathered here could ever be.  
There was a moment of silence... But it did not last long. The man growled, and as well showed his fists. He was angry with monsters, and she was one.

"Who are you to tell me anything, freak?!"

She growled back. Both her and him slammed foreheads together, not wanting to back up.

"I'm the one who will beat your ass off if you don't keep your smelly mouth shut!"

Sans retreated back into the shadows. He pulled his hood up, because he heard the police, in the distance. They had been called; Alphys' warning came clearly through his walkie.

"Sans, get out of there. Now."

He nodded, and walked deeper into the alley.

"On it..."

He looked back worriedly. Undyne was right in the middle of it all; she was managing perfectly, no one was managing to push her out or beat her... however, she was not having an easy time calming both sides down, no matter how much she tried.  
Things only stopped when multiple arrests happened.

\--------------------------

All night awake. It was not something he enjoyed.  
Morning had come, and he had not found a single clue.   
If the police hunting for him had not assured his firing, not going to work for this long would surely end his jobs. Not that he cared much about that, considering how little he had left. There would not be any more laughed cackles.  
His steps were hurried, but tired. He was heading back to Alphys' house, moral down.

"Where the heck could that little devil be...?"

There had not been any killings yesterday. Not a single one. It felt like the calm before the storm, a storm he could not predict or forecast.  
He walked to the door, and got in unannounced. He opened his mouth to speak and greet Alphys, but he froze when he saw her. She was sitting right in front of her tv. The morning report was on.   
She slowly turned to look at him, with a haunted look.

"You were right..."

Things could only get worse.

 


	5. Chapter 5

He neared the tv slowly. From the entrance, he could only see the flickering of its lights, the unmistakable shade of blue and red hit him like a truck, but he kept nearing. He halted behind Alphys' couch, as if it would soften at all the blow of what he was about to see. Her gloomy glance did not calm him, and only made him more tense.  
His sockets narrowed, but the glow in them sharpened. He expected any possible location, any foreign landmark in the city, anything but this. He always considered the worst possibility, but it still was too grim, even for him. Neither he or Alphys said anything yet, they let the words of the reporter sink in.

 _"The police are scouting the inside of the building. There have been multiple casualties in the outer ground of this school. We don't know what's happening inside yet. For the moment, it is unknown who the attacker is, but it is suspected that a skeleton-_ "

He did not care for that assumption. The police had blocked the entrance of the school, the cameraman was trying to zoom as much as possible; a sharp eye could discern blood on the grass, and the outlines of some corpses. If there had been dust, the wind had blown it away in the school's garden.

"Of all places..."

His fists clenched, and he did not realize how he ripped her couch a little. Alphys did not care, she could not complain at the moment. Toriel was dead, but not her close ones.  
Both stared mouth agape at what happened next, something neither them or the reporter expected. The cameraman noticed too, and quickly pointed its attention towards a secondary door of the school, which opened suddenly, hesitantly. The reporter yelled, surprised to see a child tip toe out of the building.

_"A kid has made it out!"_

The police had been hesitant to enter so hurriedly into the building, and quickly swarmed around the child, who seemed to have avoided the murderer inside. They could still not see the kid clearly in the tv, but they knew who it was. Slowly, the police escorted the child far from the building, fearing that whoever had covered their clothes in blood could follow.  
If Sans' could kill with a look, he would. With sockets empty and black, he cursed Chara.

"You sick bastard."

He finally saw it, after seeking for so long. That blank uncaring and unemotional stare, he hated it. Chara was looking ahead, nonreactive to the people trying to sooth any possible fear. Under that seemingly shocked expression, he could tell that there was a hidden unnerving smile.  
The reporter managed to push through the police, paramedics, and worried crowd, close enough to lean the microphone and yell an intrusive question to the lucky kid.

_"What happened?! How did you get out?!"_

Chara did not look at the man, nor the police, but straight at the camera. Any mother watching the news would have felt pity, seeing the blood on those cheeks, but Alphys winced with that unmoving stare and haunting whisper.

 **"Big sharp scissors..."** The crowd understood the words as the ones of a traumatized child, not as ones of a confession. " **That monster is still in there."**

The police was already inside, but with what Chara said, they became more aggressive. More swarmed in, through the door that Chara had opened. The camera had left Chara, but that stare was still following it; they caught a subtle laughed smile, one that was taken as crying by the paramedics.  
Sans leaned closer to the tv, eye glinting, and only Alphys prevented him from punching the screen. Not even with a dark alley would he manage to get there in time; Chara was taken inside an ambulance, even if there was not a single scratch on their skin, only the blood of others. He wouldn't find that ambulance, and if he did, he knew that Chara would not waste time escaping from whatever hospital they ended up in. It was another thing that concerned him most in the moment, something inevitable.  
Alphys covered her mouth in horror, because screaming echoed out from the building, and after a few seconds the doors opened fiercely. Five policemen pushed out a huge figure, which almost hit the top of the doorframe with its big horns. Said figure was subdued, fiercely, arms twisted from behind, yet there was no struggle, only reluctance.

_"Stop resisting!"_

Shouted the police, to a monster who was only trying to speak up, scared and shocked. Asgore looked back at the men pushing him out, walking forward, to not end up shot down.

 _"I'm not resisting! You have to hear me out!"_ He looked back inside, with a terrified glint in his eyes. " _You have to take out the children! They-!"_

A policeman shut him up, with words that made Asgore shake and freeze.

_"You did not leave any behind, monster."_

Asgore opened his mouth, shook his head, and then tried to find coherent words, all too shaken by what he saw and found. The inside of the school was painted in red and white, every single classroom and hallway. He was covered in blood, from the bodies which he had tried to hold up.

 _"N-no-"_ He yelled at last, having first kept quiet when pointed with guns. " _You don't understand! I- I would never-! It wasn't me! I heard them scream! I had to get in there! It was not me!"_

The camera could not follow more of the scene. The reporter snarled, losing sight as the police dragged a now struggling monster to their cars and vans. Holding his microphone, he turned to the camera, narrating what every single monster hater would be thinking.

 _"It seems it was not the same monster in a bloody rampage, but a second one, stricken with the same blood lust. A simple gardener keeper, gone crazy, wielding his own tools as weapons. One has to wonder, should be monsters trusted around humans? Can they somehow become tempted of taking our lives? Multiple murders, multiple fights around town; are they inherently violent? Is history repeated?"_ He leaned closer to the camera, questioning dramatically. " _Should they have never left the underground they had-?_

Alphys turned the tv off. She sat there silent, watching as Sans still held its frame painfully. His sockets were fixed on its black screen for a minute, like if he could still see and hear what it showed seconds ago.  
He slowly let go, realizing there was silence. He took a reluctant step back, and without word, faced the door. He took his phone out, and dialed a number that he did not want to call. Alphys was still sitting while the tune echoed, holding herself, trembling.  
At last, her voice echoed through his phone, booming with frustration.

_"What is it now?! I'm busy, Sans. I've been following two thugs who have been breaking the windows of monsters' homes around the neighbourhood, and I am not about to lose track of-"_

"I need you to go to the police department."

He swore he heard her fangs clench, and her foot stomp the ground.

_"What?... You're not gonna tell me that would help against these two or that little brat, right?! 'Cause you know damn well that police doesn't exactly side with us monsters! What the heck do you want me to do in-?"_

"Asgore should probably be there, soon. He got arrested." Her booming voice fell silent. He whispered, tiredly. "He probably will need someone there by his side. Try not to escalate things in there."

He hung up. He would only be yelled at if he tried to explain. Her curiosity would make her get there faster.  
If there was someone who was almost as close to Asgore as Toriel, it was Undyne.  
He looked back at Alphys, and explained what his course of action would be today.

"I'm going to try to check in some hospitals." She did not answer with words, but nodded while he looked back from the porch. "Warn me if any in town appear in the news."

The door closed, and her home grew eerily quiet.


	6. Chapter 6

A sunny day, no work, no worries.  
He kept walking, hands in pockets, listening to the unending words of his brother.

"And I said, no, that's no way to cook some spaghetti. You just punched some tomatoes, and then dropped them on top of the pasta!"

He had asked mindlessly, trying to keep at least some kind of conversation between them, even if he was not all that interested. He was looking at the city around them, while Papyrus rambled happily about his meetings with Undyne.

"She, of course, should have instead put the tomatoes in the microwave! In there, they become as juicy as if you smash them because they explode, and they even get hot enough to warm the spaghetti as well!" He turned to look at him, and questioned his absent minded look. "Sans, are you even paying attention to my excellent and wise words?"

"Not really. You could say... I'm bored to death."

Papyrus stared at him, intently, eyes narrowed, very intensely. In the end, he kept going, ignoring that unfunny pun.

"As I was saying... You two never listen to me. I, the great Papyrus, always try to give the best advice, yet you always ignore it. You-"

"Stop walking."

Papyrus gasped, offended by his order. He glared at him, and tried to keep walking ahead through a cross walk.

"How dare you boss me, brother?" He lifted a leg, ready to cross. "The light is green! You forget the rules of traffic! I have the right of way in this-"

Sans pulled him back gently with a pull on his scarf. Papyrus blinked, seeing an ambulance drive by through, heading straight for the hospital across the street. He did not object when he received a very cocky stare.

"Told ya."

"Oh." Papyrus straightened his scarf, swatting his hand playfully. "Of course, ambulances have the right of way! It's very important for them to reach their destinations as fast as possible! I wouldn't delay their journey! I just didn't see it..."

"Hmm hm." Sans looked at said ambulance, which had parked at the entrance nearby. "Doesn't look like it was an emergency though."

A girl was being let down of it on a wheelchair. Her leg was wrapped, and it looked like it was broken. Papyrus whispered, confused as to why the little human couldn't walk for herself in.

"What's wrong with that human?"

"I think she broke a bone, Paps." He shrugged, sighing. "It happens."

Papyrus smiled and chirped in, clueless.

"Oh, she can just pick another one!" He twirled a bone in his hand, seemingly out of nowhere. "Like this!"

"Humans can't do that."

"But I recall you saying they had bones inside their flesh? They have monsters like us hidden in there! Concealed! She can just pick the broken bone and let another take its place!"

"It doesn't work like that." He pointed at the human, smiling kindly. "Humans can't pick their own bones, Papyrus."

His brother stared again at him, slowly realizing the girl couldn't fix her leg so easily. His small frown was one of frustration. While they crossed the street, Papyrus didn't stop staring at the girl, thoughtfully.

"So she can't take another to replace the broken one..." Suddenly, his expression became more joyful, struck by an idea. "I know! I'll just give the doctors some of my own, so they can fix it!"

"Papyrus, it doesn't-"

He dropped his hand, because his brother had already ran off towards the paramedics by the doors. He sighed with an amused shake of head, and decided to follow, at a slower pace.

\------------------

How slow his steps had been... just like they were now.  
That time, they were slow because there had been no worries in his mind. His brother, even if surrounded by confused staff, had been safe and sound. Now... His steps were slow out of sorrow. Much less people was around, and the hospital staff looked grimly tired.  
He leaned on the corner of the building, eyeing the ambulance entrance in the shadows. He was not surprised to see the same ambulance that he had seen in the news, nor to see it empty. A couple of nurses were scouting the area worriedly, looking for the child that had been taken here just an hour ago.

"The kid can't have run too far."   
"Keep looking, the poor child must have ran off scared to death. Who wouldn't be after experiencing such massacre by a huge monster?"

If only they knew...  
He pushed himself off the wall, and ran off on his way. With luck, he maybe would find a trail of dust which to follow.

\---------------------

The officer eyed the documents on his desk, holding a hand on his forehead.  
If his headache wasn't enough, it did not help that a hand suddenly slammed on top of the desk.

"Where is he."

He looked up. How a monster managed to push through the group of officers standing by the entrance, he did not know. The building was as busy as ever; reporters were crowding the street outside, trying to snatch any possible information about the incident, some people were protesting... and now a monster had managed to go pass security into the very high security area. It was just perfect...  
He eyed Undyne tiredly, even warily.

"Lady... do you have permission to be-?"

"Don't call me lady." She growled a huff, growing ever tired of having to deal with obstacles. "I'm here to see Asgore. Let me see him."

The officer sighed again, and began to shuffle through papers.

"I can't let you through. Given the gravity of the crime committed, this place is to be highly guarded. We can't let anyone, let alone any monster, to see the suspect. Only an attorney or a very close family member could gain access, after a lot of paperwork. And even then, it would have to be under very strict surveillance."

She hit the desk again, not getting much reaction from the sleepy officer. She yelled, managing to scare off the two officers that had been slowly nearing to try to pull her away.

"Just write in those damn papers that I'm one of those things, whatever lets me in there!"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Are you even one of those things...?"

She nodded fiercely, leaning very closely. With her eye patch, only one of her eyes sharpened.

"Some have called my spears the ones of justice... I've been part of the former royal guard, more high than any human judge could be. I've been close to the king, loyal as a daughter could ever be. If you think I'm not worthy of giving him aid right now, no one will be!"

The officer pondered, very tiredly and without interest.  
Undyne waited, but she lost her patience. With another snarl, she worded what would really give her the way in.

"Do you even have the time or enough coffee to argue with me? Because I'm stubborn..."

FInally, the officer realized that the easy way was to let her in. He did not care if the chief found out, he just wanted to end the day and go home. With the many killings and riots police had to deal with these days, he was seriously considering quitting.

"Just go past those cells and through that door."

"Thanks."

With only that plain word, she marched through. She pushed the door that led to the higher security cells without a blink, ignoring completely the nervous unsure looks she received.  
She had been determined and sure of herself, but her steps slowed the more she neared the cell Asgore was held in. It was a big one, tall enough for him to be in. It had white floors and walls, thicker door... Asgore was there, sitting at a table, chained by hands and feet. There were three other people in the room with him. One was sitting at the opposite end of the table, a stern looking woman, escorted by two very armed guards at her sides, as if Asgore could break the chains and lunge at any moment. She was asking questions harshly, like is she was talking to a serial killer, which he was presumed to be.

"I'll repeat myself, Mr..." She looked at her papers, and made a face as if she was surprised he could have a name. "Asgore."

Undyne froze outside, right out of view. Yet she could see and hear everything. Her fists clenched, seeing the broken expression of her former king, the emptiness in his defeated eyes. He did not even flinch when the woman tapped her fingers and asked again.

"Why don't you tell us the truth?"

He spoke, very slowly, whispering with a dry voice.

"The truth, I already told you. When I ran inside, they were already dead. I did not hurt anyone."

The woman leaned backwards on her chair, huffing in frustration. With her arms crossed, she looked down on him, even if he towered while hunching miserably.

"You should know, that a confession warrants a lower sentence. You could very easily avoid capital punishment."

That was enough.  
Asgore winced, because the door of the cell opened forcefully. The guards laid their hands on their weapons, but did not draw them out. Undyne eyed the three humans down, for a whole minute. She slowly opened her mouth, very slowly. Her words were menacing, and luckily intimidated them enough to be unable to react physically.

"I think, that's for justice to decide. He's innocent until proven otherwise."

The woman stood, holding her precious documents. Undyne was not faced when she retorted, coldly.

"He's not innocent, and we can prove it." Asgore shivered, with what was said next. "Maybe, we can even prove that it wasn't a skeleton who made a park bloody..."

Undyne moved sideways, controlling herself. She let the woman and guards step out. She was locked inside with Asgore, by one of the two guards, who stayed to keep watch. She took a deep breath and then, very slowly turned around.  
Asgore took a while to look up. When he did, he met her eye with dread, even with shame. She felt sad when he asked softly and with a trace of a cry.

"Do you believe I did it too?"

She sat on the chair in front of him. She did not look at his chains, but at his eyes, intently. Her voice came out sure, certain, proud.

"Not even if I saw a lifeless body in your hands, Asgore."

He laughed. His eyes closed, his shoulders trembled with that laugh. She knew laughing silently was the only thing he could do instead of crying.

"I- I can only think of the children." He was not referring to the ones that died today anymore. His eyes opened, with tears in them. "I remember those souls. What I did to them."

He was a killer, willful or not. If this was a cruel joke of fate, he understood.  
Undyne held his hand, but he did not react.

\--------------------

She paced back and forth, phone in hand.

"Where are you?"

She called again, and again. But he wouldn't answer.  
She was about to lose hope she would get to contact him today, until her door opened.  
Alphys gasped in relief, because Mettaton rolled into her home, screen on his robotic form flashing in frustration. He was holding his phone, angrily inviting himself in.

"Alphys, don't you know I'm a busy artist?"

She held her hands hopefully, smiling tiredly.

"Mettaton, I've been trying to call you and-"

"Calling me and interrupting my rehearsals!" He laid a hand dramatically onto his rectangular form, leaning a little on his wheel. "Don't you know I have a very important act soon? Can't you stop sending me messages about senseless violence and crazy theories of yours?"

She sweated, shaking her hands.

"Mettaton, it's not a theory. Frisk really did-"

"Yeah, next you'll tell me they managed to hold those huge scissors that weight more than them."

"You saw the news."  
  
"Of course I saw them. They were all over." He waved around, motioning to every screen she had. "Killings here, brawls there, thugs going around causing problems... and you blame? A child. I don't buy it."

"It was that child." She held up her phone, trying to explain. "Sans and I know that-"

"Oh yeah, the skeleton that is always sleeping on the job? Look I don't think he did it, he just probably was goofing around when that park incident happened and he was just caught in the middle of it, but that he did not do it does not mean Frisk did it. That little one allowed me to reach my new audience after all. If you ask me, this has to be the work of a very sneaky serial killer. How else could they sneak into that school?"

She shook her hands again, growing nervous with his very fast words.

"Okay, okay. Lets assume its NOT Frisk. Just a serial killer. A human serial killer, because you know that no monster would kill one of their kind. This is why I called you."

Mettaton sighed with his robotic voice, cutting her off again.

"Alphys, I already read your paranoid messages. I can perfectly fend against a murderous human, you don't need to tell me anymore. In fact, I was originally built to fight them."

This time, she was the one to interrupt.

"Exactly. You can be a killing machine. That's why I called you again."

Mettaton looked at her, turning more to look at her.

"Excuse me?"

Alphys eyes darkened, sorrowful.

"I need your help. When we find this murderer, I need you to step in. I need you to take that form, and confront that human. I need you to be Mettaton NEO, and end the life of that human as you were designed to."

Silence fell. Mettaton said nothing for a minute. Only for a minute.

"I am not that, Alphys."

She was taken aback. Mettaton was serious now, dramatic pose all gone. His voice echoed in her house firmly, surely.

"I cannot kill a human. I am more than that. I want this body to entertain, to please, to dance and sing. I'm not letting go of my new found freedom, just to embrace that part of me and end a life. Humans show me appreciation, I can't end one of them. What would that leave of my aspiring career? Nothing."

"But-"

"No buts, Alphys." He turned around. As fast as it had gone away, his cheerful and cocky demeanour returned. "I have a show to get ready for. I will make this city forget of their worries, I will give them what they truly need, something with which to forget their sorrows. I am not going to join in the killing; i'll only make them drop dead with enjoyment, darling."

She was unable to stop him from rolling out the door.

\----------------------------

His eyes scanned the dark street. He followed the small and subtle trail of dust, like a shadow. It took him to an alley, darker than the night itself.  
Finally, he saw with his own eyes what he was looking for.  
Chara stood there, knife in hand. A human body laid at their feet, bloody. The lit cigarette that the human had been smoking had rolled deeper into the alley, the only light that shined.

"I finally found you."

Chara said nothing. They only turned to face him. That eerie smile, it made his bones shiver, even if he had thought of this moment so many times. With a lean of head, that smile got creepier, with vacant eyes that had no seeming soul in them.  
Sans put his hands into his pockets, only able to give the dead human a glance of pity. He then looked at Chara again, and even if he wished to just rush and impale with one of his most fierce attacks, he found himself talking.

"Kid... I think I remember warning you. But not this time. This time, you were peaceful; not a single monster died down below. Why keep up that mask for so long? What brought you to this path, now that we're out?"

Chara told him then... **it was fun**.  
Those words, made him shake. He began to laugh, holding his skull with one hand. He laughed loudly, stared down by that demon, which still smiled while he laughed.  
His laugh ended abruptly. One of his hands dashed out of his pocket, his eye glinted brightly with a mad trace in it. Chara dodged the bone that bursted out of the ground. With fast feet, they lunged towards him. Sans dodged too, when inches away, expecting a stab. To his surprise, Chara did not try to stab him, but ran away into the street.  
He cursed, and gave chase. He kept waving his hand, trying to hit, to end that little demon, but they wouldn't stop moving. Through the street, one of his bones collided with a street light, making it fall noisily against the ground.  
All that commotion, it attracted attention. Even though multiple humans peeked out of their homes, he kept chasing. He did not care that some exclaimed, horrified by him.

"That monster is trying to kill a kid!"

Chara, of course, had hid their knife.  
Sans struggled to keep pace, to not lose sight. But he did not manage. He snarled, eye glinting, when multiple humans stepped in the road in front of him, wielding bats and makeshift weapons.

"Damn you..."

The curse he meant for that demon, was taken badly by the humans in front of him.  
He bolted away, in the opposite direction, knowing he would not get through as easily. He got into another street, and quickly tried to climb onto a nearby ladder. He got onto the top of a building, and glared down from above, knowing he would have much time until he was spotted.  
Chara was nowhere to be seen.  
His skull bowed for a moment, painfully. He kept moving, even if he was shaking and panting.

 


	7. Chapter 7

He kept typing, his hands brushed the keyboard at fast speed. If one looked closely, his eyes seemed to glint from time to time, moving left and right, scanning the screen in front of him intently. For a long time he had been sitting there, at the computer, tirelessly seeking.  
Time and time again, he scrolled past the endless reports of the news websites, an echo of events he couldn't change. Corpses and dust laid everywhere, mostly in the most hidden and reclusive neighbourhoods. The quantity of dust on the streets had increased, yet police seemed more interested on investigating and reporting the human casualties.  
"More monsters than humans have allegedly died, and even then..."  
"It is us monsters forbidden of roaming around."  
Her words were bitter, and sorrowful. A new established curfew prevented any monster from getting out into the streets at night. It was mandatory, not only by law, but by force; police was becoming more harsh, more aggressive. Humans could roam, if brave enough against the thought of a murderer, but monsters were forced to stay indoors. Anyone who had tried to protest had been silenced; no one but monsters were against this curfew.  
Alphys sighed, laying her head in between her hands. Her computer screen was an unnending wall of text, that she could never hope to read fully. Without looking at him across the dark room, she whispered tiredly again.  
"We're never going to find a hint of that kid's whereabouts, were wasting time."  
"I'll get out then."  
He stood up, pushing gently the chair aside. That made Alphys look up, groaning nervously.  
"I didn't mean that, Sans." He stopped, leaning sideways onto the chair, seeing her so defeated. "This is precisely the worst time for you to roam in the streets."  
"It is always the worst time, heh."  
His forced laugh made her stare blankly at his face. He was smiling, but it was a tired smile, his eyes hinted what he truly felt.  
"It amazes me how long you manage to keep up that facade."  
His expression fell for a millisecond. And that moment was gone as fast as it came. With a confident tone, he looked at his computer again, glaring with a grin.  
"One of the only things I can do is laugh about it."  
With that, he sat again, slamming his hands on the keyboard and mouse. He pierced the screen with his eyes, begging to find a clue which to follow. Anything that told him where that little devil was, where to seek closure. He was guided by anger, by a fiery desperation he could not explain. He had nothing left, nothing but questions.  
He was furious, though he really wanted to cry.

\----------------

He broke the silence.  
"You've been here for far too long."  
His figure had been like a statue in the dark of the cell. With his words, he moved subtly, raising his head upwards by an inch. His horns showed more than anything in the dark, the only thing distinguishable while he sat sulking down.  
In the dark, he wasn't the only one who had kept silent and immobile. Across him, sat another figure, more slim and small in comparison, but as imposing. Her eye opened, as she breathed in slowly. Her crossed arms and tense posture against the wall showed how angry she was. She looked even more pissed when he tried again, slowly and solemnly.  
"Undyne, you don't have to be here."  
"I will do as I want."  
He really was worried. He looked up a little more, and then tried to sound firm; he resorted to the only thing he could think of to make her leave.  
"As your king, I command-"  
"Former king. Can't boss me much anymore, Asgore."  
Key word tried. He breathed out, sitting a little more limply. It did not hurt him that she revoked his tittle, but that she kept herself still, at any cost.  
He shook his head, clenching his hands while staring at the floor.  
"You've stood there for hours. You've not left my side, not even when they come to threaten me with their silly documents, laws, or men." He said the next words surely, looking at her. "I can handle this on my own."  
"I know." She spat at the ground, because while she spoke a guard passed by in the outer corridor. "You always do."  
Another while of silence. Her red fins twitched, she was listening intently. She could hear the sounds of the officers and bureaucrats crawling in this pathetic building of theirs. No human would be allowed to stay with a presumed criminal for this long, not even a lawyer; however, no one made her leave, not when she was a monster. They let her stay locked in this cell, by his side. Surely, they thought it was appropriate, or maybe safer.  
After a while, she laughed and warned him, never leaning away from the wall.  
"Here they come again."  
When that horrible woman and her crooks stepped into their corridor, they came right into view of her scowling fangs. She was sure she made one of the guards shiver with one single glance.  
The woman was not faced by her angry stance; she stood in front of them, behind the bars that divided them. With a monotone bored tone, she commanded the guards.  
"Let the monsters out and into the interrogation room."  
Undyne smiled, leaning her head at the woman.  
"Oh, how cute. You've visited us so many times already that we don't need hellos anymore."  
"No need for formalities, indeed." The woman retorted, with her own sarcasm. "I hope we don't need force either. You better behave."  
A guard neared Asgore nervously, cuffs in hand. The king only raised his hands up slowly, but he still made the human flinch. Undyne rolled her eyes, seeing another pair of handcuffs, tucked away by the second guard, ready to be used at any moment. She pushed past said guard out the cell, glaring down at the humans, heading straight for that room.  
"Let's just get this over with. I wonder what stupid claims you'll have this time. Maybe you even frame him of eating the children."  
"Could have been very well one of his intentions."  
Undyne showed her fangs, but then looked at Asgore in disbelief. Her king said nothing, not even a huff. He was looking down again, nodding at every command of the guard that guided him to sit down at a chair.  
"Are you just gonna let her say that?!"  
Asgore motioned to the second chair at his side, sadly begging her to sit down.  
"Undyne, it's alright, please."  
She growled, but did as asked. Still, she pierced the humans across the table with her eye.  
The woman waited a few seconds to speak; she took her time making herself comfortable on her chair, setting her suitcase and her documents at hand. Once everything was nicely sorted, she looked at them both condescendingly, ready to let out another set of pushy questions.  
"Well, we don't expect you to confess after having asked so many times already... but we hope you can answer some of our doubts."  
Undyne leaned onto the table, glaring closer. She mocked the humans, knowing well what they were leading to.  
"There have been more murders. While he was in that cell."  
"Yes." The woman did not seem happy to have to admit it, but she still showed pride. "That does not mean he is innocent of what transpired in that school. No, it only means there is a second killer on the lose. And we want to know who it is."  
Asgore repeated again, calmly and slowly. He looked harmless and broken, but everyone but Undyne looked at him with anger.  
"I already told you, I do not know why this is happening."  
Undyne was glad that Asgore followed her advice. She had told him who could have done this, and he had been rightfully confused. He did not want to believe it, but he couldn't deny that at this point anything could be possible. However, these humans would never believe that a kid could do it either; so she had warned him to stay quiet. If he said a kid did it, he would lose all credibility.  
The woman looked at her papers, again. Slowly, she took a document out, from in between all the data she had, from the multiple incidents.  
"Luckily for us, we do know more. It would have been foolish to not keep an eye on the beings that fought a war against us once; humans welcomed you, but we weren't so stupid as to not be wary. We have done our job, as soon as possible." She looked at Asgore, this time more serious. "A king could hold anger for the past... and a queen act upon it."  
It was not easy to make Undyne flinch. Neither she or Asgore expected this, at all. The document was pushed forward, for them to see. A paper, with a picture of Toriel and a lot of text.  
"According to the monsters we have interviewed, this... woman, is the former queen of the underground. Because of her close relation to the king, we've tried to find her. However, we found nothing. Her home was empty. She is reported missing. We don't know her whereabouts. Someone with such tittle could still hold a lot of power, she could be behind most of the incidents, be it directly or indirectly."  
Asgore's eyes opened more, having been lidded and tired. He looked up from the paper, shaking his head in denial. His voice came out shaky, unnerved by the implications of her words.  
"...Toriel would never do that."  
The woman laughed and kept pushing the trail of thought.  
"Monsters have been imprisoned down below for far too long to not hold a grudge. She was the queen, therefore, the lead of any-"  
Suddenly, Asgore stood. Undyne gasped and tried to regain her balance, because Asgore pushed her chair with his sudden stance. His body, sullen seconds ago, was now firm and tense, fists clenched with anger. His eyes were narrowed with hurt and resent, while looking down at the humans in front of him, towering in the room. His fangs showed while he yelled, not loudly but with enough intensity to make everything rumble. The humans cowered under him, never having seen him like this.  
"She would NEVER do that!"  
He breathed out angrily, panting. He only came to his senses when he realized that Undyne had moved in between. She was standing in front of him with a hand laid out, looking worriedly and warily ahead. He followed her glance, and saw that the guards were pointing their guns and tazers at him, ready to shoot.  
His body relaxed, and he let his head hang low again. As he unclenched his hands and sat down slowly, the humans lowered the guns. He sat again, only whispering one thing.  
"She would never..."  
He had no doubt. His misery had begun when he faced humans, his struggle when he lost his child, and his loneliness when he swore revenge. Everything he did just brought her further away.  
Undyne lowered her hand slowly, relieved no one shot. It seemed negotiations were over, judging by how lost Asgore looked.  
The humans were rightfully shaken. They all had stood, and looked ready to leave. The woman was hurriedly packing everything in her suitcase, for the first time not looking smug. She had a lot of questions still, but she did not look ready to try to ask them.  
"T-take him away for now."  
She tried to walk out the cell, but did not close correctly her suitcase. She gasped, because at the door, she hit the bars with it and made it open. All its contents dropped. Papers flooded the floor, making her become even more nervous.  
Undyne did not pay mind to that though. Her eye opened wide, because the suitcase had contained another thing. A paper laid nearby, depicting a crime scene, a park.  
She stared blankly at the red scarf at her feet.

\--------------------------

The monsters whispered between each other, worriedly.  
Before they could do anything, the one they worried more for arrived.  
"Another day, everybody! Open the doors!"  
The monsters winced, hearing that wheel roll, coming closer down the street. They turned and stood in front of the theater window, hoping to be able to delay the inevitable.  
Mettaton had been ecstatic, ready for another morning rehearsal. He had been optimistic, even if there had been a curfew for the night. He ignored the nervous glances of his co-actors... until he came face to face with the window. Everyone was trying to block his view; it was obviously very inefficient, as one of them was a see through ghost.  
"What. The. Heck."  
Everyone gulped. Mettaton moved them aside with his gloved hands, and stared with his screen at the broken window. The big glass had been smashed with a big stone, and it did not look like an accident. His beloved theatre, attacked in the night, by an attacker he could not identify or stop.  
He slowly rolled around to face his peers. His screen flashed more red, while he asked with controlled anger.  
"What is the meaning of this?"  
The monsters exchanged glances. They couldn't say more than the truth.  
"...It is no secret that things have not been alright."  
"The other day a human yelled at me on the way here."  
"Could've been anyone, boss."  
Mettaton pretended to take a deep breath. Laying a hand on his nonexistent head, he breathed out.  
"First, the city goes crazy with news of murders, causing a lower attendance. Then, they make me change the schedule of the grand new show with this stupid curfew. Now, some scumbag smashes the window of my precious theatre with a rock. What will be next, a tank shooting down our property?"  
His peers shrugged, oblivious that he did not expect an answer.  
"It was a rhetoric question."  
Suddenly, he clapped his hands together, shouting orders with more enthusiasm.  
"No matter! The show must go on, everyone!" He pointed at the window, insistently. "Get this fixed! The opening is tomorrow, and we can't receive our guests with the view of this vandalism!"  
The monsters had their doubts, but they did not dare voice their worries. If they dared suggest to cancel the show, Mettaton would pull out a chainsaw. The neighbourhood had not been the most nice place to live in recently, but Mettaton had a dream, and he would not be faced by anything. They got to work, while he shouted loudly.  
"One single hater won't take us down. Let us bring enjoyment to this town! Let me blind them with my spotlight!"  
He rolled into the building, ignoring the intense presence of the police in the streets.

\---------------------

The sun was blinding.  
With a groan, he stood up from the desktop chair. Slowly, he walked up to the window by her computer, and pulled down the curtains. It lessened the morning light, but he was till bothered by it. He looked at Alphys, with a long sigh.  
She had fallen asleep on her desk. At her side was her phone, with only 10% battery left. There were numerous missed calls, from her to Undyne. Her computer still showed the new's feed, now filled with speculation.  
He took a nearby blanket, and laid it over her shoulders. They had not slept, at all.  
He could take it. He had to.  
Moving his bones a little and cracking his neck, he surrendered to the thought of getting out. He had to keep looking. If the Internet would not give him any clues, he would have to seek them himself.  
He neared the door, reluctantly. He pulled his hood on, and grabbed the doorknob.  
When he opened the door, it wasn't the light of the sun what greeted him.  
He took a step back, instinctively. In front of him, blocking the sun, stood Undyne. Her hand was outstretched, her eye accusing... She did not doubt to ask while he trembled.  
"Why didn't you tell me."  
He stared fearfully at the red scarf. Undyne was unmoved by the subtle painful shivers that ran down his spine. His pain was only perceived for a couple of seconds, but it was still there when he tried to pull himself together. He looked at her, with a hurt resigned expression, skull darkened under his hood.  
"Because I know how it hurts."  
Indeed, her eye held tears. Her face was stern, but full of sorrow. Though, there was also anger.  
"And you think I can't take it?"  
The question was inquisitive and resentful. He did not answer. He did not want to think of it. He did not want it.  
It was still real.  
She growled deeply, not knowing if to feel angry with him, the world, or herself. He was hurt, and no laughter could heal. Papyrus was gone, it was a terrifying thought, but she felt she had the right to know. She did not deserve to not know.  
Without being able to punch him or yell at him, she pushed him aside and got in. Sans' stumble and her steps woke Alphys up. Dazed, she looked behind her, to see Undyne there.  
"U-undyne?" She woke up a little more, and tried to stand up. "I tried to call you so many times! Why-"  
"You knew too?"  
Alphys froze. She took a step back, because Undyne shoved the scarf at her, demanding a reaction. She got one, and she knew right away that it was not the first one.  
"You knew..."  
Alphys tried to speak, but she only stuttered.  
Undyne did not curse at them or blame them. She was hurt, but she understood. That did not mean she was not angry.  
There was only one thing she could do with that anger...  
Sans stood at the entrance, seeing a familiar kind of rage. Undyne entered her room, kicking her door open. In seconds, the sounds of metal echoed strongly...  
Her steps rumbled in the house. Alphys kept quiet and stepped aside, reluctantly letting the huge armor go past her. Undyne's eye glared at her sadly as she marched by.  
Sans did block her way.  
"Undyne, if you find Frisk-"  
"I will. And I don't care, move aside."  
She fully believed now what that devil was capable of. She wanted to hunt it down, and make it pay a million times, with her own hands.  
Sans knew that her rage could blind her. Many things could blind, and her weakness was rage.  
"Listen-"  
"I think we've listened enough."  
A spear lashed in between them. He had to move aside, if he did not want the point of the spear to cut his clothes. Her eye stopped glinting, but her hand kept holding the spear. She snarled, glaring at the sun in the distance.  
"All that brat has said, is worth nothing to me now."  
She marched forward, mourning angrily.  
"If you don't have the guts to avenge him, I will."  
They were not able to stop her.

His weakness was hope.


End file.
